01 May 2024
The district council has yet again faced a challenging year. In financial terms, it has, like all other councils, had to make budget cuts because of the Conservative Government policies of limiting general grants, subsidising developers’ fees and restricting council tax rises.
Until recently the fact that developers’ fees were capped uncommercially by central government was costing this council over £3 million a year.
Little wonder that Conservative candidates in this election are seeking to distance themselves from this political vandalism by describing themselves as ‘Local
Conservatives’!
Not that being a local Conservative should provide any badge of immunity: the last time they were in power in the district they drove the council into unsustainable debt because they cut corners on major projects. On taking office we discovered that the new facilities in Harpenden could only be completed by asking the council for a lot more money.
We are committed to putting our environment first. We won over £10 million in funding to make our social housing more eco-friendly. With the goal of achieving net-zero by 2030, the council has launched a new Sustainability and Climate Crisis Strategy, enabled thousands of trees to be planted, launched the Solar Together Scheme, agreed a new walking and cycling strategy, launched a new eco-friendly parking strategy, and remains in the top five councils for recycling.
We are committed to developing more social housing sites and decarbonising all council-operated built assets. We will continue the St Albans Greener Together programme and will carry on with our work to make council land more wildlife friendly.
Over the past 12 months we have made good progress towards agreeing a new local development plan. This has already had its first public consultation and is heading towards the final consultation later this year.
The Government has made it clear that they will tolerate no delay in this. Which makes it remarkable that opposition parties constantly demand postponement, preferring presumably to hand the whole thing over to remote Government officials rather than local people.
A new Local Plan will do far more than satisfy box tickers in Whitehall. It will embed climate-supporting environmental rules in housebuilding. And it is the only real chance of protecting the Green Belt from haphazard development.
Government rhetoric has implied that its new national planning framework will save the Green Belt. Close inspection, however, indicates that this is a mirage. The recent decision by that same Government to allow Green Belt development in Chiswell Green shows that, when push comes to shove, it will back developers over local people.
We always remember that the district is a place in which we live, shop and work. As our award-winning St Albans Charter Market blossoms, we are planning to expand the
market capacity and hold small-scale markets on days other than Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Similarly, winning over £1 million in Arts Council funding for our museums underlines our commitment to the district’s cultural life.
The Lib Dem team is committed to continuing to keep St Albans moving forward.
Our candidates care about St Albans because they are our communities – they live here, they shop here, they work here.
Take Terrie Smith, our candidate for Park Street. Terrie is a veteran local campaigner who has been fighting for her local community for over 40 years!
Starting with the protests against the Moor Mill landfill in the 1980s, Terrie has become a leader in the local community group Fight the Freight with Lib Dem councillor Nuala Webb.
Together they have left no stone unturned in the fight against the monstrous Conservative-backed Strategic Rail Freight Interchange.
Just like Terrie, our candidate for Clarence Joanna Meaden won’t let anything stand in her way when it comes to breaking through barriers to help those who need it. There is no better example, than Joanna’s years-long fight with the Conservative-led county council for special educational needs (SEN) support for her autistic/ADHD daughter.
Having experienced first-hand the difficulties in navigating local SEN provision, Joanna is committed to inclusion and wants to make sure that all residents feel supported and can enjoy the city’s amazing facilities. She has a passion for ensuring access for all, as well as safeguarding our green spaces and pushing for parking solutions in the ward.
Lib Dem councillors and campaigners work all year round for local people – our candidates are at the heart of our communities and are committed to delivering real change for St Albans.
